David and I have been chatting, and he got around to asking me questions: what exciting plans do I have this year? I cheekily responded "I'm going to walk from San Diego to Canada", and he got very interested; he likes taking long motorcycling trips that take more than a bit of planning and was wondering how I could pull it off.
Here are his first three questions.
1. How can you afford the time off?
I just stop working. The truth is that I'm self-employed and consult; I'm finishing working with one client in late March, and that's a great time to start walking north for the five months.
2. Where do you sleep? Refuges? Tent?
Mostly in a tent or on the ground. I'm carrying a lightweight backpacking tent, a lightweight sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. The tent is useful for rainy nights, really cold nights, and when the mosquitos get horrible. Sometimes I'll just sleep on the ground on top of the tent's ground cloth.
There isn't any refuges or huts along the trail specifically for hikers, but when I go into town to resupply I'll likely get a room overnight.
3. Are you going alone?
Yes, but that doesn't mean I'll be alone. A number of people will be hiking solo around the same time, so I'll no doubt be around people, sometimes hiking with them over difficult stretches like Sierra mountain passes, or camping with them.
I'm sure David will have more questions to follow.